While people for and against a project to close the gap between the 710-Long Beach Freeway in Alhambra and the 210-Foohill Freeway in Pasadena may disagree passionately on whether the project, over 50 years in the making, is a good idea, it’s likely they can all agree on one thing: It is important for stakeholders to attend at least one of three “All Communities Convening” information sessions being put on by Metro starting next week.

The 710 Freeway gap closure would create a connection between Pasadena and East Los Angeles. Currently the freeway ends in Alhambra on Valley Boulevard, commuters cut through local streets because there is no North-South route.EGP 2012 Photo Archive

The sessions will update the status of the 5 project alternatives still under consideration in the SR-710 North Environmental Study, and give people an opportunity to ask questions and be heard during the planning process, according to Metro.

The study looks at the various options to reduce traffic congestion caused by a gap from where the 710 Freeway ends and the 210 Freeway.

While many residents see it as a local control issue, the gap closure project has regional transportation implications. It’s goal is to relieve street congestion in several cities, along State Route 2, Interstates 5, 10, 210 and 605, as well as East/Northeast Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley, say transportation authorities.

$780 million in voter approved Measure R tax revenue has so far been approved for the project; about 10 percent is being used to complete required environmental studies, according to Metro Highway Program Project Manager Michelle E. Smith.

Measure R is expected to generate $40 billion over the next 30 years for projects aimed at traffic relief, and for transportation upgrades in Los Angeles County. The 710 gap closure project is one of many projects under Measure R.

The upcoming information sessions — July 18, July 20 and July 23 — will include a presentation by a moderator, with members of the 710 study technical team on hand to answer questions, according to Metro spokesperson, Helen Ortiz-Gilstrap.

The sessions will layout refinements and variations made to the designs for the four build alternatives that address stakeholder comments, and better meet the “performance measures and objectives” of “improving connectivity and mobility, reducing congestions, increasing transit ridership and minimizing environmental and community impacts,” Ortiz-Gilstrap told EGP in an email.

Those alternatives include a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that among other things would include more dedicated bus lanes to provide “high speed, high frequency bus service” between East Los Angeles and Pasadena/La Canada; a light rail system similar to the Gold Line; better traffic management including synchronizing traffic signals, ramp metering and street widening, and the most expensive of all the alternatives, an underground tunnel connecting the 710 and 210 freeways.

Leaving things as they are, or a “No Build” option is the fifth alternative under consideration.

Ortiz-Gilstrap told EGP that the information being presented at each of the sessions will be identical, so residents only need to attend one meeting.

Metro completed the project alternative analysis last year and is now in the environmental document preparation phase which includes an extensive number of technical studies that will look at the impact of each of the alternatives on the air, water and cultural resources in the affected communities as required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The results will be included in the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), Metro Highway Programs Executive Director Frank Quon told EGP recently.

Despite Metro’s statements to the contrary, residents in some communities have alleged that the transportation agency has already decided on its preferred route. They are concerned their homes and businesses could be taken to make room for a tunnel or light rail system.

Quon told EGP that at the information meetings residents will be able to look at detailed maps of the alternatives to see what is really being considered, ask questions and raise any concerns.

One of alternatives to address the 710 Freeway gap is a light rail that would travel both underground and above traffic.

“I would like to … be able to say, ‘here’s your home, what do you want to know about what’s going on around your home? What do these alternatives mean to you?’” Quon told EGP.

For example, one of the light rail transit variations includes an elevated track that goes down Mednik Street in East Los Angeles toward Cal State Los Angeles, before going underground in Alhambra and heading to Pasadena. It’s possible eminent domain could be used to get land needed for the stations, Quon told EGP.

The light rail option is estimated to cost between $2.4 and $2.6 billion and would require funding beyond the $780 million approved. The bus route is estimated at $50 million, the traffic and transportation management system would be less than that, and the “no build” option would basically be $0, Quon said.

A surface route, considered too disruptive to communities, has been eliminated, Quon said. The route involving Avenue 64 in Northeast L.A. is also long gone, according to Metro officials. However, one of the equally, if not more controversial alternatives, an 8-lane tunnel 150-200 feet below ground, is still on the table.

A public-private partnership could be formed to build the tunnel which could cost upwards of $5.4 billion, with the private investor operating the tunnel as a toll road to recoup their investment. If built, the tunnel would have portals on the south end of Valley Boulevard and the north end between Green St. and Del Mar, according to Metro.

Exhaust vents would utilize the latest technology to clean the air. Quon said. “It’s not going to be an open-ended pipe, regulating agencies won’t allow that.” Because some of the studies are still very preliminary, Quon said Metro is not yet able to answer every question being raised, but is attempting to share the information as it is developed.

The Draft EIR/EIS are expected to be published this fall and Metro envisions conducting another round of meetings before the release, according to Ortiz-Gilstrap.

Metro’s Board could receive a recommendation by the summer of 2015, she said.

For some of the opponents to the SR-710 freeway extension, however, it’s not about which route; they oppose all of the build alternatives. They say all four options are aimed at making it easier for companies to move goods at the expense of people’s health and finances.

However, two recent occurrences are giving them hope that the tide may be turning in their favor: The Metro’s Board’s vote to remove the SR-710 Gap from the list of highway projects to receive accelerated funding through Measure R, and the addition of new Metro board members, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Last week, about 150 opponents of the SR-710 freeway marched and chanted “No 710” at South Pasadena’s July 4th Festival of Balloons Parade, according to Joanne Nuckols of the No 710 Action Committee. The committee was marking a 60-year anniversary fighting the extension of the freeway through their community.

Nuckols says the removal of the 710 from the list of accelerated projects is a major victory: “It is the first time the majority of the board has voted against something on the 710,” Nuckols told EGP.

She also noted that as a councilman, Garcetti, along with Councilman José Huizar and former Councilman Ed Reyes authored a resolution opposing the 710 Freeway extension; above ground or by tunnel.

The 710 Freeway currently ends on Valley Boulevard in Alhambra, just bocks north of Monterey Park where some city officials say they are frustrated that the project’s been stalled for so many years. It needs to be completed to help alleviate all the traffic spilling off the freeway and onto Monterey Park streets, the city’s mayor, Teresa Real Sebastian told EGP.

Monterey Park residents are tired of dealing with the pollution and traffic that has resulted from their main streets — Fremont, Garfield Avenue and Atlantic Boulevard —being used as connector roads to Pasadena, she said.

As a former South Pasadena resident, the mayor says she prefers the tunnel option because “it does not divide the city in half.”

Metro says it is doing extensive outreach to residents and community, religious, business and non-profit groups.

It emphasises that while all the alternatives are viable, the “no build” option would not resolve traffic congestion problems.

“When voters voted [for Measure R] the 710 was identified as a project in this area and it identified $780 million toward that project. So it’s a significant message that came from the voters of LA County,” Quon said.

The board’s decision to not fast track the project doesn’t kill it, it just doesn’t speed it up.

A brush fire broke out Monday in Montebello near the Whittier Narrows Dam at 12:37 a.m., said a dispatcher with Verdugo Fire Dispatch.

It soon charred around 7 acres of heavy brush inside the Rio Hondo riverbed, near Lincoln Avenue and San Gabriel Boulevard, a news photographer reported from the scene.

A helicopter made water drops on the blaze throughout the night and crews from Montebello, Monterey Park, Downey and Los Angeles County worked to clear a line of vegetation around the flames. No structures were threatened and no evacuations were ordered, the dispatcher said

California came in at 41st in a nationwide ranking of children’s well-being, according to a report released late last month.

The state ranked just ahead of Texas, which finished in 42nd place. New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts earned the highest rankings, while Nevada, Mississippi, and New Mexico ranked lowest.

The report, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in partnership with Children Now, determined rankings by taking into account the state’s performance in 16 areas, including graduation rates, parental unemployment rates, and the percentage of children who are uninsured. California placed 41st in 2012 as well.

Jelena Hasbrouck, Children Now’s member recruitment manager, called the findings “alarming” and said they “signal a need for those in our state that want to improve children’s lives to collectively work together for greater impact.”

The state fared worst in children’s economic well-being, where it placed 46th in the nation. In recent years, California has worsened in all four areas that the study uses to determine economic well-being – the percentages of children living in poverty, children whose parents lack secure employment, children living in households with a high housing cost burden, and teens not enrolled in school who are unemployed.

Notably, over 50 percent of California’s children live in households with a high housing cost burden, compared to 40 percent of children nationally. Over 75 percent of children from low-income families in California live in households where housing costs exceed 30 percent of the family’s income.

Nearly one in four (23 percent) California kids lives in a family whose income is below the federal poverty level, up from 17 percent in 2007. Of those, 37 percent are American Indian, 34 percent are African American, 31 percent are Latino, 14 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander, and 10 percent are white. Seventeen percent are members of two or more races.

California ranks 29th in health, down from 23rd last year. Health was scored by the percentages of low-birth weight babies, child and teen deaths, teens who abuse alcohol or drugs, and children who lack health insurance. The state has made modest improvements in health; currently, 8 percent of California’s children are uninsured, down from 11 percent in 2008.

Jessica Mindnich, Children Now’s research director, notes that the report shows that as employer-based health coverage is trending down, public coverage is picking up the slack. The most recent data available show that 43 percent of kids are covered by their families’ employer-based plans, down from 47 percent in 2007. Thirty-five percent of kids are covered by public plans like Medi-Cal, up from 29 percent in 2007.

While findings show that over 90 percent of California’s kids have continuous health insurance, Mindnich says that with more children being covered by public programs, Children Now is concerned with their real access to medical providers.

For example, though Children Now found that 80 percent of California’s kids have dental insurance, Mindnich says that in 29 counties across the state, there are no pediatric dentists that accept Denti-Cal, the state’s dental program under Medi-Cal.

“We want to make sure that the state is prioritizing children and treating them like a treasured human capital,” says Mindnich.

The city of Montebello has been awarded an $8,000 grant to help pay for renovations to a veterans memorial at Montebello City Park.

The Home Depot Foundation grant will be used to makeover the memorial which in recent years has been the target of graffiti vandals, and in 2011 the theft of copper plaques commemorating the U.S. Constitution bicentennial.

Vivian Romero and John Paul Garcia, both members of the city’s Culture and Recreation Commission, spearheaded the effort to restore the memorial and remove the signs of “disrespect” that continue to happen despite the city’s efforts to beautify the area.

Romero notes that the park and memorial have been neglected for a very long time.

“The veterans memorial has become a defunct skateboard park,” and “getting ruined by skateboarders that are using it as a platform to do tricks,” Romero said.

“Its about being tired of the way things looked,” he said, explaining why they have worked so hard to bring about the memorial’s renovation.

Home Depot’s community service foundation helps fund veteran-related projects like the one at City Park. On Aug. 22, Team Depot will be at the park to make the renovations, which, among other things, will include installing 2000 square feet of pavers, resurfacing and planting new vegetation in eight flowerbeds and installing tile on the memorial wall.

Romero told EGP she hopes the city will do a better job of policing the area, and if necessary, adopt stricter penalties for offenders.

The city is also looking into skateboard deterrents and using anti-graffiti coating as a way to discourage vandals, Romero said.

During a park beautification day in May, residents helped clean and prepare the area for the city’s Memorial Day observance. They planted dozens of 20-foot trees and plants donated by a local wholesale tree distribution company. The city, after years of tight budgets, paid for new plaques to be installed in time for the public ceremony.

Anyone interested in volunteering to help renovate the site in August, should contact the Parks and Recreation Department at (323) 887-4540.

Bus benches throughout Boyle Heights and downtown Los Angeles are becoming the canvas for a visual public art project debuting this week.

Curated by the city of Los Angeles’ DoArt Foundation (DoArt) and Make Art Public (MAP), in coordination with Martin Outdoor Media — the company that has the contract to sell advertising on the benches — the art installations will display unusual scenes captured on Google Earth Street View and images of superheros portraying immigrant workers.

Some the images of characters dressed as popular superheroes carrying out jobs held by immigrant workers are by Mexican artist Dulce Pinzón.(Office of Councilmember Jose Huizar)

Councilman Jose Huizar approached Martin Outdoor Media with the idea of filling available spaces on bus benches with art until they are leased out for advertisement, according to the councilman’s office.

Martin Outdoor Media has agreed to offer free space on up to 100 bus benches in Council District 14 through September for the artwork.

Twenty of the public art images were installed on July 5.

“This project gives us the opportunity to bring art to the public right-of-way,” said Huizar, thanking all those involved, including the artists.

DoArt, a local organization focused on public art and education, and MAP, a Montreal-based collective dedicated to creating public art on unsold advertising space, is funding the project. They selected works by artists Dulce Pinzón and Jon Rafman for the public installations.

The color photographs of Mexican immigrants dressed in the costumes of popular American and Mexican superheroes are the work of Pinzón, an artist from Mexico.

Her “Superheroes” series explores the lives and labor-intensive jobs held by many migrant workers, specifically those of Mexican heritage. Her work pays homage to the brave and determined men and women who somehow manage, without the help of any supernatural power, to withstand extreme work conditions in order to help their families and communities survive and prosper, according to Huizar.

On the other hand, Rafman’s contemporary pieces depict interesting and unusual images caught on Google Earth Street View from around the world. His “9 Eyes” series of Street View photography shows “a spontaneous quality unspoiled by the sensitivities or agendas of a human photographer.”

Responding to excessive heat warnings issued last week across the Southland, the City of Commerce announced that city facilities will become public “Cooling Stations” on days when the temperature is forecast to be 95 degrees or above.

Residents can take refuge from the heat in one of the city’s air conditioned facilities, which include four parks, each with an outdoor spray pool for children; four libraries; an indoor swimming pool at the Brenda Villa Aquatic Center; the Commerce Teen Center and the Commerce Senior Center. Except for the indoor pool, the facilities are free of charge to enter.

As an added bonus, on days where extreme heat is forecast, City parks will show family movies and provide cold water during operating hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; the age limit at City spray pools will be waived; and the Senior Center will be kept open on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.